LA condo market continues growing on back of high demand: report

The Los Angeles condo market continued its upward swing between August and October, with median sales prices increasing 7.9 percent to $750,000 year-over-year and by double digit percentages in some neighborhoods, a new report shows.

Sales price growth was strongest in Downtown, rising 16.2 percent to $630,000 year-over-year, according to the report by Polaris Pacific. The Westside came out on top in terms of sales price at $900,000, a 10.8 percent increase over last year and well above the sub-$700,000 prices in DTLA, Hollywood, Koreatown and the Tri-Cities. Resales were down in all neighborhoods besides Downtown, where they were up by 6.5 percent.

(Credit: Polaris Pacific market report)

Unsurprisingly, Downtown and the Westside are also where developers are building the most. There were 1,682 condos under construction in Downtown and 1,133 in the Westside, making up 85 percent of all the condos being built in the neighborhoods covered by the report.

And the market wants those units badly. Condos are spending an average of just 45 days on the market, 15 days below Polaris Pacific’s 60-day balanced market benchmark. The remaining inventory is projected to last just 1.6 months, a 48.2 percent decrease from last year, the report said.

Shanghai-based Greenland Holdings is responsible for many of the units in Downtown, thanks to its $1 billion luxury Metropolis development. Its second tower is set to open in May 2019, and its third in October 2019. There are 520 units between them.